in ouch The MAgazine May 2015 Contact our Minister, Rev Diane Smith, on or

Transcription

1 in ouch The MAgazine May 2015 Contact our Minister, Rev Diane Smith, on or Methodist Matters in the Felixstowe Mission Area

2 Dear Friends As you will be reading this in the Season of Pentecost, I include a quote from the Prophet Joel Joel 2 verse 28: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Hebrew Scripture (The Old Testament) refers to the work of the Holy Spirit in a number of ways; in Genesis, for instance, we read of God s Spirit breathing life into all creation. On occasions we read of the Spirit of God dwelling in certain individuals but this is not a widespread experience. However, the Prophet Joel knows that in time the work of the Spirit will be much more inclusive. In fact, if you read on from the above quote you will discover that young and old, male and female - in fact all people now have the opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit! Pentecost meant that Joel s words flew off the page and into the public square. The Holy Spirit would never again be a stranger to the world. The Holy Spirit is key to the communication of the Gospel and key to all the work we are involved in. Across the Mission Area there are all sorts of opportunities to Communicate the Good News. For instance, on Saturday the 16 th May at Seaton Road from 10am until 12 midday there will be an opportunity to hear about the work of Open the Book. This organisation equips groups of people to be able to lead school assemblies that are in line with the requirements of the National Curriculum. They provide all the materials for two or more people to lead an assembly and I can assure you the resources are excellent, having previously been involved with the scheme. The Rev. Jo Jacobs has organised this training for us and it is hoped that enough people may undertake the training for us to be able to provide some regular input in the local area. Thank you to all who are currently making plans for the two Holiday Clubs taking place this summer for Primary School aged children. If you would like more information please contact Heather Carpenter, Stephen Wyatt, Mary or Robin Pattinson. 2

3 As many of you will be aware Dawn Bone our Lay Worker is organising teams of people to be involved in this year s Felixstowe Carnival. Our Mission Area float this year takes up the theme of Joseph and his Technicolour Dream Coat. People are getting involved across the Mission Area and a mass painting session of materials will take place at Seaton Road Methodist on Monday 1 st June from 2pm -7pm. Just come when you can and pick up a paint brush! On the day of the Carnival, flyers will be given to the crowd containing information of our Mission Area Worship and Outreach. On Saturday the 13 th of June we have a Churches Together in Felixstowe event at Trinity from 2pm to 4pm. Cynthia Capey from Ipswich University will be leading us in some reflections on Interfaith Communication. Our thanks to Rev. David and Fran Keeble from Seaton Road who start their Knit and Natter group on the 18 th May form 2pm to 4pm. This will be on the third Monday of each month. Any craft can be brought along or alternatively just bring yourself. Please encourage friends and neighbours to come to what promises to be a most interesting group Finally on the 20 th June we have our next Messy Church from 11am until at Trinity. Our theme is The light of the world and our next planning session will be at Seaton Road Church, 7pm on the 1 st June (straight after the painting session mentioned above). We ask God s blessing on the ways in which we seek to communicate the Good News, some are mentioned above. It would be great to hear about others. Please do write an article for the magazine and share your Good News! God Bless Diane 3

4 Services at our Churches. Sunday, 3 rd May Kirton a.m. Mr Bryan Nichols Seaton Road a.m. - Rev Diane Smith Trimley a.m. Mr Bryan Nichols Trinity a.m. Rev Diane Smith 6.00 p.m. Local Arrangement Sunday 10 th May Kirton 9.45 a.m. Rev Diane Smith (Holy Communion) Seaton Road 9.45 a.m. Rev Derek Grimshaw Trimley a.m. Rev Diane Smith (Holy Communion) Trinity a.m. Rev Derek Grimshaw (Holy Communion) 6.00 p.m. Local Arrangement Sunday 17 th May Kirton 9.45 a.m. Prof David Welbourn Seaton Road 9.45 a.m. Café Worship! Rev Diane Smith including Holy Communion Trimley a.m. Prof David Welbourn Trinity a.m. Café Worship 6.00 p.m. Rev Diane Smith Bramford Road Methodist Church 6.30 p.m. Circuit Service Dedication of Easter Offerings Sunday 24 th May Kirton 9.45 a.m. Rev Diane Smith Seaton Road 9.45 a.m. Mr Colin Westren Trimley a.m. Rev Diane Smith Trinity a.m. Mr Colin Westren 6.00 p.m. LA Sunday 31 st May Kirton 9.45 a.m. Rev Kathy Flynn Seaton Road 9.45 a.m. Mrs Janet Foster Trimley a.m. Rev Kathy Flynn Trinity a.m. Mrs Heather Bentley 6.00 p.m. LA 4

5 Hi All, As most people are aware last year we took part in Felixstowe carnival, we did Noah s Ark and came a great 3 rd place. It was a great day full of laughter and a great witness for God. This year we are entering another lorry and as the theme is magic of the movies, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat seems a perfect choice. We are hoping that as a church we can all take part in this great witness. We have a plan of what we hope the lorry will look like and a list of things that need to be made. We are having a painting day between 2 to 7pm on 1 st June at Seaton Road Methodist Church and hopefully a meeting before this just to make sure we have everything we need. We hope that people who may not be able to attend on the actual carnival day may still take part by helping with the preparations. Heather [Bentley] has put together a great plan which will appear in the churches shortly. Many thanks Diane, Dawn and the Carnival team Easter event at Kirton.. On April 9 th at Kirton Church we held an Easter craft event for children of all ages. The activities included painting of wooden crosses, planting seeds to remind us of new life, reading bible stories and many more. The children also took part in a dance session, dancing to Circle of Life from The Lion King. All the children left with an Easter egg and hopefully knowing more about the real meaning of Easter. We hope to hold many more of these events in the future. 5

6 Opportunities for Worship and Fellowship during the week. Trimley Methodist Church has a Prayer Meeting every Tuesday at 10am followed by coffee. Seaton Road Methodist Church has Informal Worship every Thursday at 10.30am followed by coffee (except for the 3 rd Thursday in the month which is the Church Lunch). Trinity Methodist has a monthly Holy Communion the first Friday in the month 11.30am in the Sunday School room. Bible Study groups meet at all of the above. For current details please see church notices or contact the senior church steward or Diane. 6

7 News from Seaton Road EASTER FAIR Saturday 28 th March a Craft Fair took place in the church hall whilst Diane and Dawn led a series of Easter Activities in the church for children (including a Holy Week Cross, bunnies, planting seeds to represent new life, painting). Each child received a Real Easter Egg. This proved to be a wonderful opportunity for outreach, being able to engage with families from Brownies, Rainbows, Little Fishes, Kids Club & Holiday Club. It was also an opportunity for fellowship with the stall holders. There was brisk trade in the kitchen with bacon rolls proving popular and a wonderful array of cakes that people had made. Money was raised for church funds (with a proportion to Macmillan Cancer Support) but the main success of the morning was being able to offer hospitality to the community where we are placed. We wish to acknowledge our thanks to Dawn, our Outreach Worker, who devised the initiative and put in a tremendous effort to make it happen. PRAYER CHAIN Out thanks to Hazel Rusby who has set up a new prayer chain that will allow members to keep in touch, share concerns and hold each other in prayer. Messages can be sent by , telephone or text. KNIT & NATTER This is a new initiative to be set up by David and Fran with refreshments provided by Pat and Stella (see back page). Starting from May it will be held on the third Monday of each month, 2 to 4pm in Seaton Road church hall. We extend the invitation to Mission Area churches, Walton Churches, Hope Trust & Walton Parish Nursing. This is open to anyone who would enjoy a time for fellowship (you don t have to knit to come along). WALTON PARISH NURSING Marilyn Flower is soon to be leaving Felixstowe to settle in Bournemouth where her husband has a new job as a hospital chaplain, so she will be stepping down as our Parish Nurse Occupational Therapist. The WPN Team wish to acknowledge her tremendous skills as an OT brought to this ministry and we thank her for all the lives touched by her loving care. We shall miss her but we send every blessing to Marilyn and David as they start a new chapter in their life together. (Marilyn may have the opportunity to use her experiences with us to bring Parish Nursing ministry to the people of Dorset.) 7

8 Kirton Methodist Chapel PLANT SALE Annual General Meeting Wednesday 13 th May 7.30pm Trinity Methodist Church All welcome. Our annual plant sale is on Saturday 16 th May from 11am until 1pm. All plants are locally grown. Tea, Coffee, Refreshments. Cops and Robbers Holiday Club The Mission Area Holiday Clubs will be taking place at Seaton Road from 27 th to 31 st July and at Trinity from 24 th to 28 th August. Please continue to pray for our holiday clubs as preparations are going on behind the scenes. Several people have already signed up to help but if you haven t, please consider if you could give any time to help with these events. We need many pairs of hands to run successful weeks. Even if you could only commit to helping for one day please speak to Robin or Mary Pattinson, Steve Wyatt or Heather Carpenter. Seaton Road Little Fishes We would like to say a big thank you to Maria Alexiou, from Trinity, who has been running our parent and toddler group Little Fishes for nearly a year. We will miss Maria, and Myles, but congratulate her on her new job and wish her the very best for the future. 8

9 Trinity Spring Fayre, 11 th April. It gives me great pleasure to report that Trinity s Spring Fayre raised the wonderful amount of This event is our major fundraiser of the year and it s lovely to put a smile on Ali s face (our Treasurer). Not that she doesn t usually smile! My very grateful thanks go to so many:- Rev Diane and Nigel for allowing us to store items in The Manse attic over the winter. (What a joy to turn up with the van and find Nigel had moved all the boxes down three flights of stairs for us)! Anne for publicity, Ali for arranging all the floats before she went on holiday and banking all the proceeds on her return. To everyone, who donated goods and came along to support the event. To those people who provided us with generous monetary donations. To Carol, Michelle, Debbie and the kitchen helpers, who provided us with a super lunch. I must mention Mike Peck, who must have the cleanest pair of hands on record, they seem to be permanently in a washing up bowl! To Val and Joan, who worked tirelessly baking cakes before the event and serving refreshments on the day. (And to think Val was on Town Pastor duty on the Saturday night)! To all who helped set up Friday afternoon, man stalls and clear up at the end of the day. And finally to Debbie, Mike and my husband Dave, who counted and bagged the proceeds. Team Trinity rises to the challenge once again, my heartfelt thanks to you all. God Bless Heather Carpenter Volunteers needed might you be able to help with the editing of future editions of In Touch? If you feel you might be able to assist then please us at magazine@seatonroad.org.uk or speak to one of your church stewards. 9

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11 Commissioning of the Chaplain to Felixstowe Academy Tuesday 24 th March 2015 saw the commissioning of Joshua Hunt as Chaplain to Felixstowe Academy by the Right Rev. Dr David Thomson, Acting Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. In the Academy main hall there was a large gathering of Ministers, representatives from Felixstowe Organisations, Staff, Students, Deputy Mayor Doreen Savage, Principal Mr Salter and Mr Stephen Chamberlain, Regional Director of the Academies Enterprise Trust. The new Academy building had made a great impact on the community, now with 1327 students and 80 members of staff. The rivalries between Deben and Orwell High Schools had disappeared. This Chaplaincy was pioneering work in a non-faith school and involved risk-taking. Josh in September 2014 had been told to make your own way, find your own path and had blossomed in the role and had fitted in so well. Relationships had been built with a quiet confidence and Josh was praised for being super-organised. 11

12 Felixstowe Listening Service is delighted to offer a 4 session PASTORAL CARE COURSE Led by Karen Gardner and Margaret Bale on Tuesdays 12 th & 19 th May; 2nd & 9th June pm 9.30 pm at Ranelagh Road Christian Fellowship, Felixstowe 85 per person 75 per person for teams of 4 or more attending together (cost includes all 4 sessions, resources & refreshments) This course is intended for anyone with a heart for caring & listening. Come as a team or individually & explore topics which include the qualities of an effective pastoral carer, the Biblical principles of caring & the importance of keeping boundaries and working safely. Develop your listening skills & self awareness in a safe, relaxed & interactive environment. The course will be particularly helpful to those offering pastoral care or prayer ministry within their church of with an interest in setting up a pastoral care team. Karen is an experienced counsellor, supervisor & trainer and is the Counselling Team Manager at Inspire. Margaret is the Team Leader at Felixstowe Listening Service & a qualified counsellor. Both Karen and Margaret are passionate about helping listeners & pastoral workers to develop their skills. To book a place on the course, please complete the attached application form and return with payment in full (cheques made payable to Felixstowe Listening Service ) to: Felixstowe Listening Service Inspire Counselling & Training The Fletcher Centre, 2 Crescent Road Ipswich IP1 2EX For further details please phone Margaret Bale on or felixstowelisten@gmail.com 12

13 Christian Aid Week This year s Christian Aid Week is from 10 th to 16 th May. As usual, we will be helping with the local house-to-house collection and if you are able to spare a little time then your help would be greatly appreciated. Not everyone enjoys collecting in this way but this is a real opportunity to help those in the world who have few choices in their lives. We, at Seaton Road, aim to go out as a group again this year and we shall be meeting up at the Church on Monday 11 th May at 6.30 p.m. to go out collecting for an hour or so. If you are unable to make that evening but are still able to collect then you can, obviously, go out at any time during the week. Please think about this carefully and prayerfully. Please support the work of a Christian Aid if you possibly can. Robin Pattinson HIS NAME IS JESUS CHRIST - PASS IT ON SING HIS PRAISES, REJOICE ALL DAY LONG PRAISE HIM WITH ALL OF YOUR MIGHT NEVER LET HIS NAME FADE OUT OF SIGHT TELL THE WORLD THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR EVERYONE'S PROBLEMS JESUS WANT TO HEAR THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST WILL FOREVER BE HIS GLORY AND TRIUMPH FOR ALL TO SEE STAND UP FOR JESUS WHO BORE OUR PAIN HIS ENEMIES WILL FAIL AGAIN AND AGAIN WORSHIP OUR LORD, SING HIS PRAISE FOLLOW OUR MASTER FOR ALL OF YOUR DAYS Maureen Brown Trimley Church 13

14 Keeper I grew up with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen before they had a name for it. A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones. Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now. It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing. I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more. But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more. Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away... never to return. So, while we have it, it's best we love it, and care for it, and fix it when it's broken, and heal it, if we can. This is really true. For marriage, and old cars, and children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and ageing parents, and grandparents... We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special. And so, we keep them close! Good friends are like stars... You don't always see them, but you know they are always there. Keep them close! When you die, here are10 things GOD won't ask you: 1. God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation. 2. God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home. 3. God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped to clothe. 4. God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it. 14

15 5. God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability. 6. God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend. 7. God won't ask in what neighbourhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated your neighbours. 8. God won't ask about the colour of your skin, He'll ask about the content of your character. 9. God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation. He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, if you've asked Him into your heart, and not to the gates of you-knowwhere. 10. God already knows your decision. Contributed by Albert Chilton Something New: Seaton Road want to experiment with afternoon worship & explore different worship styles. Sunday 28th June at 4pm CELTIC COMMUNION Led by Rev. David Keeble At Seaton Road Methodist Church All Welcome If you have any items for the June edition of In Touch then please send them to magazine@seatonroad.org.uk or give them to one of your Church Stewards by Sunday 24 th May. 15

16 Another prize winning entry from the Circuit Arts and Crafts Festival poetry class. This time from Heather Farthing from Seaton Road. Field Watching Farm track stretched out ahead I walk the fields, dog at heel. October Leaves drop, then clocks change The downward turn of nature s wheel. November Mist heavy on trees and soil. All round just shadows unreal. December Birds search in thin daylight Bare hedges grudge a berry meal. January Raw cold, all pervading Toes and nose I can t feel. February Wave swell of turned soil Sleek shine carved by plough steel. March Then. sudden five o clock shadow But of morning fresh green. New life in Nature is indelible Can Easter, then, seem so incredible? 16

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